Car roof structure



Nov. 19, 1935. J. J. TATUM CAR ROOF STRUCTURE Original Filed Feb; 24,1934 Patented Nov. 19, 1935 John J. Tatum, Baltimore, Md.

Original application February 24, 1934, Serial No. 712,833. Divided andthis application July 18,

1935, Serial No. 32,052

2 Claims. (01. 108-54) This application is a division of my applicationSerial No. 712,833, flled February 24, 1934, embodying improvements inthe roof structures of box or house cars, and particularly to a car roofstructure designed for giving greater inside vertical height, or freeinside height, to vertically increase the storage capacity ol. the carby providing a clear storage space in the roof zone in freecommunication with the storage space of the car body.

More particularly the invention relates to a mansard type of roof havingsloping roof sheets and inclined extension or hip sheets joining thesame to the side sheets or side wall structure, and the object of theinvention is to provide simple, reliable and efiicient means for joiningthe hip and side sheets in such manner as to furnish astrong and durableconnection at the eaves and to stifien the hip sheets so as to resistwearing and other stresses caused by the movements or the car.

The invention consists of the features of construction, combination andarrangement of parts, hereinafter fully described and claimed, referencebeing had to the accompanying. drawing, in which:--

Fig. 1 is a transverse section through the roof of a car embodying myinvention.

Fig. 2 is a similar view showing a modified construction.

Referring now more particularly to Fig. 1 o the drawing, l representsthe upper portion of a car body of box or house type having side wallstructure formed of the outer side metal sheets or sheathing 2 and thelining 3 of any suitable material, the side sheets and lining havingtheir upper edges terminating in substantially the same horizontalplane. Arranged at the eaves line at each side of the body is a Z-shapedbeam 4 constituting a side plate. The body portion of this beam isdisposed in a horizontal plane and bears against or directly rests uponthe upper edge of the side wall structure, the beam being so arrangedthat the flange at its outer edge extends downwardly and the flange atits inner edge extends upwardly. The outer or downwardly extendingflange of the beam laps over upon and of the car, downwardly andoutwardly toward the side wall of the car, said roof sheets 8 and 9terminating at their outer edges in flanges l bent downwardly at a'sharp angle therefrom.

The roof proper 6, which is of suitably less width than the width of thecar, the outer ends of the roof sheets terminating short of the sidewall structure, or the distance between the side walls or sheets, butwhich extends transversely the major portion of the distance between the10 roof center and side walls, is supported at a proper elevation abovethe eaves beam 4 so as to form a storage space or chamber ll located inthe roof zone or above the level of said eaves beams and in clear andunobstructed communication with the storage space of the car bodytherebelow. To this end, extension sheets or hip sheets 12 are providedat the sides of the roof, which are of relatively less transverse extentthan the roof sheets, to form a supporting roof base, and which may besloped or pitched at a greater angle than the roof sheets, whereby theroof 6 is carried upon the side and end walls at such height as toprovide a storage space or chamber ll of the desired depth. The sheetsI! extend upwardly and inwardly at 'the desired angle of inclination orslope from the upper flanges of the side of the eaves beams to the sidesof the roof and are provided at their lower edges with flanges l3suitably secured, as by rivets to the upstanding 3 flanges of the eavesbeams. The hip sheets are provided at their upper edges with flanges l5suitably secured, as by rivets l5, to the downturned flanges ill of theroof sheets 8 and 9. The flanges l3 and I5 convert the hip sheets intobeams to assist in carrying the load of the roof.

By this construction a roof is provided which is elevated for thepurpose of making the car as high as possible between the floor andceiling without encroaching on the American Railway 40 Associationclearance lines, and in which the roof is stably supported by theinclined extension or hip sheets l2 which properly restrict the width ofthe root and at the same time are so sloped as to form with the slopingroof sheets a proper water shed for the purpose of carryingv of! allrain water or water from melting ice or snow without the necessity ofemploying special means for this purpose or protecting parts of the sideroof structure against leakage or other conditions causing rust. 'Themanner in which the roof is supported leaves the full height or depth ofthe body and roof internally clear to be filled with freight or ladingup to the level of the roof, and provides within the roof zone thestorage chamber II which may be employed to receive automobile loadingframes or racks which may be stored therein when the car is not beingused for the transportation of automobiles, thus allowing one and thesame car to be employed for the transmission of automobiles as well asother kinds of freight. The described construction and arrangement ofthe eaves beams 4 provides a joint connection at the eaves whereby theroof is supported from the side wall structure the hip sheets II arestiffened and reinforced in a simple but effective manner to adapt themto withstand weaving and other stresses falling thereon when the car isin motion, and which otherwise might possibly cause distortion of theroof. This eaves joint construction not only provides a strong anddurable fastening connection between the parts of the side walls androof, but obviates the necessity of employing special means forprotecting the parts at this point against leakage or other conditionscausing rust.

In Fig. 2 I have shown a modified form of my invention in which theextension or hip sheet I2 is flanged at its upper edge, as at l6, sothat it may extend under the flange of the roof sheet and the bodyportion of the roof sheet adjacent thereto, to which portions of theroof sheet the hip sheet is riveted or otherwise secured, as at H. Inthis form of my invention I have also shown a modified form of eavesbeam 4', said beam being substantially S-shaped. This beam is arrangedso that its body portion l8 bears at its upper part against the lining 3and thence extends at an outward and downward angle therefrom. The upperflange IQ of this beam projects outwardly in a horizontal plane atsubstantia ly the same level as the upper edge of the lining, while thelower flange 20 of said beam extends downwardly from the lower edge ofits body portion in a vertical plane parallel with the side sheet 2which it overlaps and to which it is fastened by rivets or othersuitable fastening means 2|. The hip sheet of this construction extendsdownwardly and outwardly from its upper edge at a suitable angle ofinclination and is provided at its lower edge with an outwardly bentportion or flange 22 which rests upon and is riveted or otherwisesuitably secured, as at 23, to the upper horizontal flange of theS-shaped eaves beam. By this construction, and by the use of ans-shapedeaves beam arranged as set forth, the advantages gained by the use ofthe Z-shaped beam are secured in addition to other advantages. The useof the S-shaped beam, for example, provides a better means for attachingor securing to the beam the roof sheets, the roof rafters, and the sidesheets, as well as side posts, as the iivets can be more easily appliedthan with any other form of beam. If desired, the roof sheet may be bentunder and interlocked at its side edge with the upper edge or flange ofthe hip sheet, and the lower edge or flange of the latter may likewisebe bent under and secured to the horizontal flange of the S-shaped eavesbeam. This 8- shaped eaves beam, like the Z-beam, bears against thelining and reinforces and stiffens the hip sheet to adapt it toeffectually withstand weaving and other strains.

While the features of construction herein disclosed for purposes ofexempliflcation are preferred, it will, of course, be understood thatchanges in the form, construction, arrangement and proportions of partswithin the scope of the appended claims may be'made without departingfrom the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

What I claim is:-

1. In a mansard type car roof structure, the

combination with the car sides, of roof sheets terminating at their endsshort of the car side wall structure, and inclined hip roof sheetsconnecting said roof sheets and the car sides, whereby the insidevertical loading space of the car is increased while the outsidemeasurements of the car are within standard clearances.

2. In a mansard type car roof structure, the combination with the carside, wall structure of roof sheets terminating at their ends short ofthe car side wall structure, flanges depending from the ends of saidsheets, and inclined hip roof sheets connecting said roof sheets and carside wall structure, a flange on the upper edge of the hip sheetssecured to the flange of the roof sheet, and a flange at the lower edgeof the hip sheet secured to the side wall structure.

JOHN J. TATUMQ

